Open
by MeredithBrody
Summary: James visits Brody after his assignment in Dubai ends, and meets the newest member of the New Orleans team. (Ep tag 2x03)(Brames)


**Soooooo. As we all know Shin writes an episode tag for every episode. Now... I wasn't overly impressed with 2x03. I just wasn't... but the second scene contained something relevant to my current favourite pairing, and I had to ( _had to_ ) write something about how James met Percy on a visit to New Orleans... because it's the best explanation to all that is said in that scene. I had an awful day, but that scene cheered me up a little. This one is Brames, and it's totally shameless shipping.  
Shin xx**

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After any assignment his instinct was always to track down Meredith and see her. Not always because he wanted anything from her, but more often because he just missed her. His assignment in Dubai had ended a couple weeks earlier than he'd anticipated, so he'd come to New Orleans to see her. They had left things fairly undefined, and he was alright with that, but he wanted something clarifying. So he introduced himself at the gate and was allowed through, then in the office instead of Brody there was a much shorter woman, who looked up as he entered. "Hey, who're you?"

"James Lathom, I'm looking for Agent Brody." It seemed prudent that he tell her that he wasn't here for no reason. If it had been her other colleagues, Pride and LaSalle, they might have recognised him. He had no honest idea who this woman was, but he was going to assume she was someone on Meredith's team.

"A guy looking for Merri, are you sure?" That note of shock told him that maybe, just maybe, nobody came looking for Meredith all that often. He didn't mind that, but he also wondered how much about their relationship this new person would know.

"Yeah. I'm her ex-fiancé." Maybe that would be a shock, or maybe not. Merri had never exactly been secretive about the fact they'd once been engaged. In fact she was happier to introduce him as her ex-fiancé than she'd ever liked to introduce him as her fiancé.

"Oh, yeah I've heard about you." There was a smirk that crossed the woman's face, and James couldn't help but laugh just a little. At least he was spoken about, even if it didn't seem like she knew all that much about him. "Thought you were in Dubai?"

"My assignment ended early." It was true, and he didn't feel the need to go into all the reasons with a woman he'd just met. He wasn't even sure he'd ever go into the reasons why it ended early, other than to say that it had, and that he had completed the assignment. "Do you know where she is?"

"Yeah, she's in the back office." The woman inclined her head and then went back to work. He stood watching her for a minute, recognising some of the work that Merri would have done when she started somewhere new. He'd been through a couple of moves with her, he'd seen what she did.

"May I?" He asked, if anyone else had been there he wouldn't have been so bold, but he just felt like this was someone who wouldn't really care. He wasn't going to snoop anyway, he respected the people who worked here far too much for that. He was also a little scared of what Meredith would do if he did.

"Sure, don't see why not." She shrugged and pointed in the direction of the offices. Just before he reached the doorway he heard a shout. "Hey, you good with her, right?" She asked, and he had to think about that for a second. On any given day he was never certain about where he and Merri were, but he'd soon know.

"Hope so. I think I'll find out now." He laughed a little, looking back through the office toward where he now knew Meredith was. Why was he feeling so nervous. They'd been together on and off for almost 11 years. He really shouldn't have been nervous.

"Good luck." Said the woman who'd greeted him, and he realised that she'd never actually told him her name or who she was. He'd no doubt find out when he made it through to Meredith and brought it up.

"Thanks." He was sincerely thankful for that wish. He walked through the back, and stopped and smiled looking through the doorway and seeing Meredith, she was dancing to her own tune, reading a file and clearly putting things away. He stood watching her for just a second. "Hey MB."

she jumped a little and shut the file as she span around to face him. James immediately smiled seeing the look on her face. She looked adorable when she was flustered. "James..." She said in the same tone she used every time he showed up somewhere he didn't expect. Which he did seem to do a lot. "How did you get here?"

"Plane, then I got a cab." He smiled, stepping into the room and shutting the door behind him. Not because he felt they needed to, but just because he thought that this reunion would be best done in private. "Then I walked." He finished his retelling of how he'd physically arrived in this room.

"Smartass." She laughed and stepped up in front of them. They both kept a small distance between them, and he realised that they were doing that because otherwise, they would be doing something that was a little less than professional for someone of Meredith's profession.

"I told people who I was." He smiled in the end, nodding back toward the main office. It was true though, that was how he'd gotten in to surprise her. He loved that he'd actually managed to surprise her. It was very, very rare that he managed that. She'd once accused him of being an open book.

"People?" Meredith's teasing grin told him she knew exactly who he was talking about, but she was still going to ask him anyway. That was the way a lot of things like this happened. They were people in careers that required them to ask questions.

"The guy on the gate, and the girl in the front office." This was the opportunity to ask about the woman he'd met, since he'd neglected to get her name and at this point it would probably be rude to ask. "Is she new?"

"Percy? Yeah, pretty new." Merri nodded then suddenly her arms were wrapped around him, and her head was against his chest. Automatically his arms went back around her and held her to him, and he wondered what had triggered that. "God I missed you."

"Me too. Seems a long time since that visit to Dubai." He commented, thinking about the last time they'd been together, when she'd come to escape the memories of Baitfish and to tell James that she truly loved him.

"It was a month ago." She laughed and shook her head, and all he could do was smile. Maybe it just seemed longer because he had missed the closeness they'd built up in the week she'd spent there.

"You're still growing out your hair." He ran his fingers through her slightly longer hair, longer even than a month earlier when they'd last been together. He never realised how quickly her hair grew, but it was so beautiful. She hadn't had long hair since they'd met, and that was a long time ago now.

"Yeah. You're still not shaving." She smiled and stroked his cheek again. Once upon a time, she'd told him that his stubble was attractive. He'd tried to keep a few days worth ever since. It wasn't the easiest, but it was just second nature to him now.

"Nope. Come on, take the afternoon off, we'll get an early dinner." He suggested with a smiled. He knew that he'd always win her over with dinner, and she knew the best places in the city for what they liked, which made him quite happy to let her choose.

"OK." She smiled after a second, and he just let her go around finishing what she was doing, then telling Percy that she was taking an early day. He was glad to see that it seemed Meredith and Percy got on quite well. It was always nice to see her bonding with her colleagues.

Once they got to her place, the planned dinner didn't happen, nor did anything else. A short while later they were laid together catching their breath. He ran his fingers gently over her back as she laid cuddled up to his side. He was quite happy to just stay like this, but after a second she looked up at him and spoke. "We're still not in a committed relationship, right?"

"If I thought for a second either of us could handle that right now, I'd ask you to marry you instantly." He couldn't help but give that answer. It was the only truthful answer he could give. While that's what he would do if the circumstances were right. They weren't right yet. "But I don't think either of us are really ready for that right now."

"So what are we?" She asked, and that was a harder question to answer. What they wanted and what they were definitely weren't one and the same. If he could make it so that they were, he would. Every second of his day would be spent ensuring that she knew he loved her, but that also wasn't where they were.

"I love you, you love me." Simple facts. That was what they needed to focus on, and the bottom line was that they'd never fallen out of love. Not once. They still loved each other a lot, and James knew they always would. "Whenever we're in the same city we do this."

"So, how about we agree to this." She started and sat up a little, causing James to move his hand from her back to her side. Merri clearly had an idea for how to explain who they were, or where they stood. He really couldn't complain about that. "We're together, in a very unofficial capacity."

"Yes, but if either of us meets someone long term, we respect it." He didn't expect her to wait forever if she met somebody who could be everything that she wanted. If she could be happy with someone, then he'd be happy for her. But he would miss her every day.

"Or we tell the potential partner about each other." Merri suggested, and he liked that idea even more. Being totally and completely honest with someone else about their relationship. He didn't know how many people would be open to that, but he was willing to give it a shot.

"I can agree to that." He smiled, and held her tighter as she leant up to kiss him hard. That made him feel a little more confident about this decision too.

"You know though..." She started, then paused and looked at him with a little glint in her eye. That was the kind of thing that automatically put his shields on alert.

"What?" He asked, watching her mischievous smile and worried just a little what she was going to say. Whenever she got like that he felt oddly nervous, and it made her laugh. He knew it made her laugh. That was probably why she did it.

"I really do love you." She said quietly, and he just smirked a little, placing a kiss to her forehead. She wasn't the one who said that often, but when she did it always gave him a little boost.

"I know." He smiled, then pulled her back over him. He hadn't actually come here to end up like this with her, but he wasn't unhappy that they'd had the chance to talk about this. Knowing exactly where they stood was something important for him. She started stroking his chest again gently and he just smiled up at her, studying her as she just sat above him.

"Where are you going next?" She asked quietly after a few seconds, and for just a moment he wished he could say that he was going nowhere. That he was planning on staying right there, in New Orleans, and working on their relationship. But that wasn't the career he'd chosen.

"Kenya, only a few weeks though." At least he could tell her he'd be back in a few weeks. As soon as he could be back, he would be back. He wanted to show her that he would always come back to her. Just as soon as he could.

"That'll be interesting." She smiled, then leant down to kiss him again. He was quite happy at this point to stop talking and just enjoy the feeling of having the love of his life back in his arms. He was going to continue hoping that she didn't meet anyone that stuck, because one day they would be in the position where they could be together. He was waiting for that day, and he knew that really, she was waiting for it too.


End file.
